Friday, October 12, 2012

Twelve years ago today, when I made my very first post on Pocket PC Thoughts, I couldn't possibly predict the journey I was taking the first step on. What an amazing, fulfilling, character-defining dozen years it's been! I'm so deeply indebted to all the people along this journey I've befriended, talked with in our forums, and yes, even gotten into rip-roaring arguments with. It all brought me here. So where is "here" exactly?

Back in September of 2011, I shared that I had taken a job with HTC, was moving from Canada to the USA, and was selling the Thoughts Media Network. Over the past year, I've had a truly amazing time working at HTC. It's a wonderful job - it's really amazing the things you learn/realize working on "the other side" of the blogger/OEM equation - but it's also all-consuming. My multiple attempts to sell this network all failed, partially due to my lack of time to really follow through. I won't bore you with the details, but let me give some advice to any business owners: when someone offers you a nice chunk of money for your business, and you're ready to sell, don't drag your feet on the paperwork - you never know when that offer will vanish! Oh, and sell when your revenue and momentum are at their peak; don't hold on too long. Evidently these are lessons I needed to learn the hard way. Lessons to teach my son I guess. :-)

So where are things at now? This won't come as a surprise to anyone who has watched what has happened to most of the sites in our network over the past year: all six sites across the Thoughts Media Network will go into a permanent state of hibernation effective tonight. This is the final post you'll see on all of them. I care deeply about all of the amazing content the Thoughts Media Team collectively created over the past dozen years, so my plans are to keep the sites online for as long as possible. One week from now, I'll shut down the forums so no new posts can be made. Right now only comments can be posted if you already have an account that has posted in the past - we've had to lock things down in that way to prevent spamming. If you have a message to share with me but don't have a forum account, please send it to me directly.

I'd be remiss if I didn't give one final thank you to the amazing team of people I had the honour of working with over the past twelve years. I don't want to list names, because I'll doubtless forget someone. Suffice it to say though that I've been humbled and blessed by the generosity and effort people put into this community. From the words you've read, the videos you've watched, the spam-free forums you've read through, to the designs of the pages and the code and server loading them when you visit - none of that could have been done without the gifted volunteers who collectively helped me create everything that these sites were. I'm deeply indebted to literally hundreds of people who walked with me on this awesome journey over the past decade. THANK YOU!

Also, a big thank you to the community itself. All you who came back here, day after day to read and watch our news and reviews, rants and raves. Thank you for your comments, your clicks, your shares, your views. None of this would be possible without you. Remember too the part you play in the success of any Web site: you matter, so support the sites you love so they can keep doing what you want to see.

And so, this is the end. If you'd like to keep in touch with me, please reach out on Twitter (@jasondunn) or check in on my personal blog now and then. What an amazing journey this has been...thank you!

On this, the 12th anniversary of the Thoughts Network, this site, as well as the other 5 sites in the network, are shutting down.

It has been a pleasure being able to be a part of the Thoughts Team and the Team here at Apple Thoughts. My thanks to all of you for visiting us and continuing to stop by over the years, and I hope we fulfilled our goal of providing you news, articles, reviews and anything Apple that we hoped you found usefulness and interesting. Thanks to Jason for all he has done, 12 years is a great run of success and am thankful to him for letting me be a part of it!

I am especially thankful to Vinny for giving me the opportunity and being a great friend, I only wish I could have added to his success with Apple Thoughts and been able to keep it going.

Good luck to all of you in whatever life throws your way, fight through the valleys to get to the mountains!

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

"It has only been a couple of days since Apple announced iPhone 5. Already the excitement for the release of this product is building up. Apple will begin shipping iPhone 5 to customers in select countries from September 21. If you prefer not having a carrier locked iPhone, you can always dish out more money and get an official factory unlocked iPhone. Today Apple has announced the factory unlocked iPhone 5 prices for USA."

As someone who hates "locked" phones, this is welcome news. New factory-unlocked phones will cost:

$649 for 16GB

$749 for 32GB

$849 for 64GB

If you're buying one, remember that it uses the new nano-SIM, so be sure that your carrier of choice has them. T-Mobile has indicated that they plan to have them for unlocked iphones in mid-October 2012 ( link ). Anyone planning to use an iPhone 5 on T-Mo?

"Knowing the accuracy of the iPhone 5 leaks and the increased number of photos of the 7.8-inch iPad parts from the same sources, I have almost no doubt that this is a real, fully working Apple iPad mini. That means that the launch must be really close right now."

If these are fakes, they've done an excellent job, even down to the new power connector. Not many rumors floating around about launch dates (that I've heard), besides "soon." If it really -is- available soon, and priced to attract new buyers, it should be a hit, as one would expect. I've got a Google Nexus 7 that I'm using primarily as an e-reader, but lack of 3G or 4G (or even 2.5G) is a handicap to taking it everywhere, despite the great form factor, great performance, and great wi-fi connectivity. Time to start planning the holiday gift list!?

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

"Will the familiar warning for airline passengers to "discontinue the use of all portable electronic devices" become a relic of the past?

Perhaps."

Every so often the FAA reviews its policies limiting mobile device usage on airplanes. They're at it again, but it must be mentioned that this particular study does not include the use of mobile phones while in flight - that's the FCC's domain. The FAA claims (in a study performed "last year") that they have 75 documented cases of consumer (passenger) electronic devices interfering with on-board systems, and the new study group aims to either confirm or debunk the current conventional wisdom that mobile devices can interfere with instruments, specifically during takeoff and landing. Skeptics point to the fact that tablets and laptops may be used by the crew, during these critical times, but not used by passengers. The study goal is to determine the what, where, when and why for the existing rules and regulations. While I do think that the rules are a bit one-sided in favor of the airlines, I'm not really that inconvenienced by having to turn off my laptop/phone/tablet during takeoff and landing. Safety trumps convenience in my opinion. How about you?

Thursday, July 19, 2012

"When Verizon Wireless announced its new shared-data plans in June, it should have enjoyed a big advantage over its arch-rival, AT&T."

Pooling data is a great idea, and one that many wanted, but they didn't want to be forced into it as Verizon was planning to do. AT&T at least is making their pooling plans optional. Choice is always better, but only if it is truly your choice! What are your thoughts on this misstep on Verizon's part and the resulting plans from AT&T?

"If you are planning on purchasing a used MacBook, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air, then it is recommended you thoroughly test it to ensure it works properly."

Some great ideas in this article, should you be looking for a used (not refurbished from Apple) Apple laptop. It also gives you a list of equipment and programs to take along with you to test it and make sure it is working properly.

"A U.K. judge ordered Apple to publish a notice on its UK website and in British newspapers informing the public that Samsung did not copy the iPad's design, Bloomberg reported today."

This is equivalent to the kid that steals and has to wear the sandwich board stating as much. Seems pretty silly to me that the judge is doing this. If the judge is so concerned about the image of Samsung, perhaps he should carry around a sign that says "I'm sorry Samsung, you are cool too" since he said their product was not as cool as Apple's. What are your thoughts?

"The latest version, Scanner Pro 4.1, brings a completely new interface to the iPhone, focusing on the most important things to make it more streamlined and intuitive."

And now with iCloud syncing, you can see the same items on your iPhone or iPad. Great update to this handy application. I find myself using this at least once a day to contribute to my goal of going paperless. Check it out in the iTunes store.